City demotes director of ACS

Updated 11:39 am, Wednesday, September 21, 2011

The city has demoted its director of Animal Care Services two years after he was brought in to modernize the shelter and reduce the number of pets euthanized each year.

Gary Hendel, head of ACS since May 2009, will now oversee shelter, clinic and live-release functions for the department.

Joe Angelo, the assistant city budget director of innovation and reform, has been named interim director. Vincent Medley, assistant director of ACS, will still manage bite investigations, cruelty investigations and enforcement.

“I can't control what folks will say (about Hendel's demotion),” said Assistant City Manager Erik Walsh, who oversees the department. “He's being asked to focus on key areas and deliveries we laid out in the plan.”

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Walsh informed Mayor Julián Castro and the City Council of the changes Monday.

Walsh said the move will allow Hendel to work on a high-volume rescue-partner concept included in the fiscal 2012 budget to increase the number of animals adopted or rescued.

Walsh said the changes were aligned with three priorities for Animal Care Services: enforcement, controlling the stray population and live release, to include rescue, adoption and return of pets to owners.

“Gary has maintained a good relationship here in town and we have to build on that,” Walsh said. “Certainly there are things we need to do as a department, but we are committed as are the mayor and City Council. We know we can do a better job, this alignment will help deliver that.”

Hendel promoted the Guardian Angel program, a foster-care program to stop the killing of healthy adoptable animals, to help the city achieve its no-kill goal.

In fiscal 2010, ACS picked up 24,495 strays, and 18,462 were euthanized. Since October last year, ACS has picked up 27,525 strays and euthanized 18,435.

In September 2010, large stray and quarantined dogs were transported to the South Side Auxiliary Shelter at Brooks City Base to reduce an estimated 100,000 stray dogs on San Antonio streets.

Several animal groups complained about the remoteness and accessibility of the facility.